The Truth Behind Melancholy
by queen of magicians
Summary: The Humunculi must be destroyed. The Colonels from Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western State, are all meeting together to decide how to go about it. What does the Western Colonel know that everyone doesn't? Is Edward flirting, or is she?
1. Prologue

Authors Blog: Wow first chapter up yay finally!!! I hope you guys like it!!! Now, just to clear up some things, I am not doing research for this chapter. It refers to the creation of the Philosopher Stone, none of which is true…I think…anyways don't think its truth; it's just my story line.

Thanks to my new wonderful Beta, HoldOnToYourTunaCans, for her amazing work at fixing my horrendous sentence structure! She makes reading enjoyable. Love you!!! :)

The Truth Behind Melancholy

Prologue:

Dante was one of the greatest alchemists ever. Her husband was a state alchemist for the Amestris Military. Together they had two children, twins. Their son, blonde with gold eyes like his father, their daughter blonde as well, but with cold blue eyes instead of gold. Their son had no intention of ever becoming an alchemist, while their daughter, Mary, wanted more than anything to become a great alchemist just like her mother and father. She became the first female state alchemist at age 25. The people then knew her as the Freeze Alchemist, though in history books she is listed as the Blood Alchemist.

When their son was 18, he died from mercury poisoning. It tore the family apart. The father was not seen for 2 years after his son's death. In her father's absence Mary became obsessed with her alchemy and, under her mother's watchful eye, learned many new things in preparation for her state alchemist exam.

After she received her license, her father soon returned. He found her to be designing a stone that would allow any Alchemist to do alchemy without Equivalent Exchange. She called it Project Philosopher's Stone. She made many prototypes using her creation of red water, but all failed.

Her father gave her ideas about the red water, but nothing worked. One day in front of the tank of red water she cut herself on the splintery bench she was fixing. A single drop of blood touched the red water and sent it into a frenzy. She knew now what must be done to create her all-powerful Philosopher's Stone. For years she planned the destruction of a city's population to create her stone.

Finally she chose the city in which she would commit genocide and set to work. The production of the stone was more brilliant than she could have ever imagined. A bright red glow came from the city as hundreds of screams rang through the air. No one broke free of the circle surrounding the city. The military, suspicious of her previous actions, had followed her for weeks. However, they were too late to stop the city's destruction. When the glow simmered, the many state alchemists of the time searched the city but found no survivors. However, they did find a familiar face standing in the center of the city. They arrested her and took her back to Central without any investigation of the incident. The Fuhrer wrote off the destruction, and made it a need-to-know file. Anyone who wasn't personally affected by the incident never knew it even happened. No specific paper trail was left.

Mary was stripped of her State Alchemist title, and was renamed the Blood Alchemist for the only written files in the history books stating her to be the first female alchemist, and how maybe the state wasn't ready for female State Alchemists yet.

Later that same day, Hoenheim went to the city and saw in the center, not one, but 3 little red gooey blobs. Each was the size of his thumb. He picked up the stones and took them home with him, making sure to hide them from Dante. A letter from Mary came in the mail the next day telling her mother to burn all her research. Hoenheim never gave the letter to his wife. He read all of Mary's research, finding that the stone could cure disease and prevent death. His son, now in the grave for 7 years, was his first attempted use of her stones. He failed miserably, destroying one of the stones in the process.

He couldn't understand. He grew angry and threw all the research against the wall. The paper floated around him, one showing a diagram of a being without a soul, which she called a homunculus. Beside the diagram was a large circle with intricate designs and shapes. He turned the page over and on the backside of the page was a formula. It was scribbled in quick, messy writing. He made out that it was a formula to take a soul and transfer it to another body. There was no more information or a circle beside the quick scribbled formula. It looked to be only a hypothesis or after-thought that had been quickly taken out of her head and written down so she wouldn't forget. It only took him a minute to decide that he would make one last attempt to resurrect his son.

If only he had not thrown the papers against the wall he would have found a page beneath that one saying how dangerous, and even deadly that branch of alchemy was. The formula she had written on the back of the page was a single thought that came to her so quickly that she had to get onto the page before she forgot it. It wasn't until she had read what she wrote that she realized what a horrible idea had come out of her head. She had refused to do more work on the idea and left it as a little scribble on the back.

Dante was about to pass away as well from a hideous disease, and Hoenheim decided to put his daughter's research to work again. He wanted to show that her life's work meant something. He couldn't ask his daughter this time as she had been sentenced to death in three day's time. The alchemy went horribly wrong. Dante's soul was transferred, but not perfectly, and his son became a homunculi just like the page said he would, but he was monstrous when Hoenheim looked upon him. He looked at himself and realized that the body he was currently in was decaying. Immediately he transferred his soul to the servant that came in the room, leaving the servant's soul to die.

Upon realizing that the servant's body was not a suitable host for his spirit, he sacrificed the flesh of the servant's body to bring back his own once again. He wouldn't learn for nearly 100 years that he would have to continuously sacrifice someone else's flesh to fix his own. Unfortunately, he also had to do the same for his wife.

Hoenheim was pleased to see the two remaining stones glowing brightly with alchemy alongside the circle. He shook his head, shocked by the power of the two remaining stones and he threw them into in the middle drawer of a nearby desk and ran out of the house.

What Hoenheim didn't know was that Mary had gotten out of the prison and was told to do war with the military again. She had first gone home to realize that no one was there. She looked through all her parents' things and stole their valuables. When she found her two red stones she smiled. She had heard that her father had done work with them from a rumour in town and was worried that all three had disappeared.

Another thing Hoenheim and Dante didn't know was that they had become grandparents while Mary was in prison. Her daughter was currently staying in town with Mary's boyfriend. Her boyfriend was a shoemaker and she had an idea.

Mary never showed up at the rendezvous point with the rest of the military. She was never seen and all that was left of her was a pair of tall black-heeled boots with gold alchemy circles, her boyfriends' trademark –a white star- on each knee, and heels with red sparkles.


	2. Chapter 1

Authors Blog: Ok Here is the first Real chapter of The Truth Behind Melancholy…YAY!! Oh, I forgot to mention, that this story makes more reference to the anime than the manga. Scraps the idea of Ed dying…'cuz you can't kill Edward, But Greed, and Pride are both dead.

Thanks again to my lovely Beta, HoldOnToYourTunaCans. She is so wonderful!!

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"YOU BASTARD!" Edward Elric was in a heated battle with Envy. Envy had just hit him hard and the crash into the wall had broken a few joints of his auto-mail arm. Envy hit him again before he was ready to block and he was shot against another wall. This time he heard a crack. His leg auto-mail cracked along the side. The image of an angry wrench-throwing girl briefly flashed before his eyes and he winced.

A quiet voice rang around the room. "Now, now Edward. Just help us and we'll leave you alone." Lust came out of a dark corner with Gluttony at her tail. Edward was in no condition to fight any longer. He didn't even know if he could stand.

"Can't I just eat him? I'm hungry!" Gluttony begged, licking his lips.

"No Gluttony, you can't eat him. Remember, you're on a diet." Lust replied lazily. A snap was heard in the distance and flame shot in every direction of the room. Envy, Lust, and Gluttony huffed before running out of the room.

"We'll deal with you later pipsqueak; when you don't have those military bastards to back you up!" Envy sneered before running out of the room.

"Well Fullmetal, I'd say you never looked better!" The man let out a chuckle. His smile smug.

"Shut up, Mustang! I was handling the situation." Ed said, disgusted.

"Yeah, By the looks of it, you were doing a great job at getting your ass kicked around the room!" Mustang smirked. He loved teasing the small alchemist.

"Just get me back to headquarters," Edward said as he tried to stand up. Almost immediately he heard another crack from his auto-mail leg and fell. He couldn't stand. 'Oh joy.' Edward thought miserably. One of the last things he wanted to do was ask Mustang for help walking. He hated the smirk coming from Mustang and refused to ask for help, but when his second attempt at standing landed his face in the ground, he decided he would have to suck it up.

"Mustang would you lend me an arm. I can't stand."

"Maybe it would be better for me to lend you a leg?" the new Fuhrer replied, an even bigger smirk on his face than before.

*~*That Evening in the Hospital Room*~*

"No… Mom…" Edward Elric was tossing in his sleep crying out for his mother. Even now, seven years after the incident, he still had nightmares of his mother's death and their attempt to bring her back/raise her from the dead. Tonight Alphonse Elric, his little brother, was just watching from the sofa on the opposite side of the room. Every time his brother yelled out, cried, even screamed in his sleep, he got afraid. Ed would sometimes hit the walls with his arms or fall off his bed slicing his auto mail into his shoulder like he did last week. Ed was Al's hero. He couldn't stand to see his brother in so much pain and it tore him up inside. With his soul inside the armour, his emotions were all he had. Usually he would shake his brother till he woke, but tonight… tonight was different. His brother wasn't yelling, crying or screaming this time. He was just calling out for his mother, almost begging for her to come to him, to hold him, to comfort him. He seemed more upset, or like he was saying his last request, like he was giving up. Edward's inwardly growing depression was worsening. Al would have cried. The search for the stone seemed to be all Ed lived for as of late. The only reason he kept going was to get his brother out of that suit of armour.

Ed awoke with a start to a dark room before turning on his side and looked at his auto mail. He gave his arm a quick rub, before glancing at his brother lying in the other bed. He squeezed his eyes shut, and rolled over, turning his back to him. In his dream, his mother had been holding him, telling him that she was so proud of him, and that she couldn't believe how handsome and strong her eldest son had become. Then she had just disappeared, before reappearing as Sloth, standing there staring at him. She had told him about how sad she was that he would do such a thing and that she thought she taught him better. She then used her water and started to drown him. Al watched his brother turn over in his bed and almost moved to comfort him, but stopped himself. He knew that while he was in the armour using physical means of emotional support were not his forte. He cried silently, though no tears could fall from the helmet.

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~* The Next Morning *~

Edward was back at Central HQ and was not impressed. His auto-mail didn't take the fight well and he had to have help walking back. He finally had found his brother, who had agreed to carry him. He was ashamed and furious with himself. He was quite certain Winry would have a field day when she found out about how banged up he got. He shivered at the thought of being hit again with her Wrench of Doom. Al had just finished making sure he was all right and had left to call Winry.

Walking with a crutch was more difficult than he remembered. Last time however, his arm wasn't busted as well. Now, as he wobbled around the building, his shoulder was sore, his back even worse, and he was continuously stumbling and crashing into walls. Though he was thankful, he was embarrassed to ask someone to help him down the stairs. He heard a commotion in the hall and limped his way to the door.

All four Colonels from the Southern, Northern, Eastern, and Western states were getting together with their First Lieutenants in Central, before a big meeting about the destruction of these homunculi Edward had mentioned to the new Fuhrer. Fuhrer Mustang had only just recently taken the position due to the fact that the last Fuhrer, was recently murdered. After years of waiting the man had accomplished his dream.

Edward, tailed by his brother, walked into the room full of chattering people. Mustang was sitting on a table conversing with Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye. "They all should be here soon Riza," he said lovingly rubbing her hand between both of his. Their affair was well known by the whole military now, since his almost-death trying to save the last fuhrer. "Is everyone ready for the visitors?"

"Almost Fuhrer Mustang Sir!" Major Armstrong said walking through the hall passing out bulletins to the officers present.

It was much later that day when the Colonels from the Southern, and Eastern states came, flanked by their First Lieutenants. It was soon after that, that the Colonel from the Northern state arrived as well. With them there, the commotion only intensified.

"You know what I heard?" The Colonel from the South said in a tone that had the entire floor listening to him, "I heard that Boots is coming. I heard she raised ranks and became a Lieutenant Colonel and is flanking the current Colonel of the West here instead of a First Lieutenant."

"You must be joking, that little girl is now a Lieutenant Colonel?" First Lieutenant Breda asked. "Isn't she only like 17?"

"18 now, I think. It will be nice to see the Freeze again!" Hawkeye exclaimed.

"She's not the "Freeze" yet Hawkeye. Remember she didn't take the state alchemist exam?" Breda answered back.

"I can't understand why Boots just didn't take the exam in the first place! There's no way she wouldn't have past it!" The Colonel from the South stated.

"Well with her job, one wouldn't expect her to put more pressure on herself. Hey Ed you should see her when she comes!" Havoc said looking in Edward's direction. "She's an auto-mail mechanic, and a damn good one at that. She should be here before that mechanic of yours is, so maybe she can make it so at least you don't have to use that crutch anymore.

"Winry does just fine on my auto-mail," Edward said dully. "I'll wait for her."

"But Boots is the best. She was training to become a State Alchemist! But before her exam, she just got up and quit and continued with her auto-mail mechanics instead." Havoc continued.

"It's been almost two years since we last heard from her. She was the tiniest thing I ever did see performing alchemy. But Boots was sure one good fighting machine. Hey, she reminds me of you Edward, tiny!" said Havoc with a small smile on his lips.

"WHO YOU SAYING IS SO SMALL THAT HE WOULD MAKE ANTS LOOK LIKE GIANTS." Edward yelled back.

"Now what's all this racket about?" Mustang yelled walking out of his office with an angered Riza Hawkeye behind him. "Here I'm trying to do my paperwork and I can't concentrate because of all the ruckus!"

The Colonel from the East filled him in before sitting back looking at the ceiling boredly.

"I left a memo for you Sir," Hawkeye replied, "But because you left your paperwork to the last minute again I told everyone else so they could prepare."

The Fuhrer groaned before going back into his office with a Riza Hawkeye following behind, shooing him back to the paperwork.

"Hold on a minute… So who are we talking about?" Edward was sitting on a chair lazily waiting for something interesting to happen, and this spiked his interest.

"Well that's a question I think you should ask the Fuhrer about." All eyes turned to the voice before a chorus of "Boots" ran through the crowd.

What Ed saw when he looked to the end of the hall shocked him. A young woman was walking toward the group. She looked about his age with blonde hair lying smooth and straight to just below her shoulder blades, and gold bangs that rested just above her eyebrows. Brilliant blue eyes looked out at everyone. She was petite, just like they said, and she wore a black tank top and a dark purple short skirt that hugged her hips. Over her left shoulder she carried a deep violet long jacket. On her lower legs and feet was a pair of almost knee-high heeled black leather boots each with a gold Alchemy circle on them, red sparkles along each heel, and a white star on each knee. What really got his attention was that she had auto-mail for a right arm.

"Lieutenant Colonel Amelia Richards, why aren't you in uniform! If the Fuhrer sees you…." said Armstrong walking up to this girl, Boots.

"It's Colonel now Armstrong…" She corrected him smiling. "And you know how I hate my uniform. Stupid mini-skirt for my alchemy…" She grimaced.

"Colonel Richards? Still you should go get into uniform before he sees you…you know how Mustang gets…" Havoc had walked over to her now as well.

"Fine…I hate you all…" She stormed out of the room with her suitcase that she'd conveniently sat beside the door, almost like she knew she would have to change upon her arrival.

When she finally came back into the room, Mustang was already there. He smiled brightly when he saw her. She glared at him quickly before standing tall and saluting him.

"Sorry I'm late sir, my subordinate was sick at the last minute and I took him back to Western Headquarters, before coming here. She glared at him again as she let her hand fall.

Mustang laughed at her before patting her on the shoulder

It took Ed a minute to stand up with his busted leg, but he finally walked in front of all the officers that had started to crowd around her. Her eyes looked in Edward's direction and she tisked.

"Seriously Roy! Don't you take care of your officers! His auto-mail is trashed. She walked up to Edward, and grabbed hold of his auto-mail arm and started turning it this way and that. A small flush appeared on Edward's cheeks in being in such close proximity to her all of a sudden. He didn't jerk back until she tried to bend the elbow and he shrunk back slightly as a jolt of pain hit him.

The entire group of officers in the room went silent upon hearing her calling the Fuhrer by his first name. He laughed at her again, watching her mess with the Fullmetal Alchemist's arm, and watching Ed's face turning pink as if a paintbrush had been swiped across his face.

"I see. Broken elbow joints. Cylinder looks cracked and will need replacing. Looks like the nerves are connected wrong too. Either that or the nerve wires are torn and have reconnected wrong. Definitely the finger joints have to be tightened and restrung. That wiring looks trashed, and your lucky that that shoulder joint hasn't given out and the entire arm hasn't fallen off. Dang, looks like you've also burned out the bearings. Mind you, this looks like Winry Rockbell's work with these markings on the shoulder here. She does well on her arms. Her legs however lack certain necessities. As I see yours is all banged up too! It looks to be cracked along the main joints. Not an easy feat it is to crack it there. Also your knee joint is bent out of place, and that's what is causing the limp. The connection plate on the ankle looks like it will need replacing too. By the way, you are Edward Elric right. The Fullmetal Alchemist?" She asked, kneeling before him running her fingers along different joints here and there on his metal knee.

"You ask after you analyze my injuries?" Edward started with a raised eyebrow. "Yes I am."

"Thought so. You fit the description. Mind you they didn't tell me you'd be this short. I'm actually kind of glad. I always felt so small compared to everyone here." Edward looked shocked at this. He was fuming and readying a comeback, but now…did she just say him being small was a good thing?

"Here I'll fix you right up. Come with me. My stuff should already be in the main room," she said with a smile guiding him to the main room of the building. He just let her drag him. She intrigued him.

She sat Edward down on a couch next to a toolbox. She laughed at the way Ed fell down, unceremoniously, onto the couch. He gave a grunt of disapproval before lifting his arm onto the arm of the couch. She opened her toolbox right away and got out a large screwdriver then started to undo the lower arm covering.

"If anything hurts at any time, even if it just twinges, I want you to tell me. No being a man and trying not to show pain in front of a girl. I didn't make you're auto mail, so if I did something wrong I want to know." She said still unscrewing the lower arm cover. While she worked Ed stayed mostly silent, a twinge here and there, but mostly silent. He watched her work before speaking up.

"You called the Fuhrer by his first name. Why would you call Mustang by his first name like that?" He questioned her, while she was scrounging in her toolbox for more metal pieces of this and that.

"We grew up together. I was really young when he got his license, but we learned from the same Alchemy teacher at the same time." She answered before putting a screwdriver in her mouth.

"So you were a State Alchemist huh "Boots?" He chuckled. "They called you The Boot Alchemist?"

"Ha. Ha" She said sarcastically, taking the screwdriver out of her mouth, before nicking a wire on purpose making Ed jump.

"I was a State Alchemist in Training, and no I wasn't the Boot alchemist. That's stupid. Seriously, what is it with guys these days? I am - was going to be known as the Freeze Alchemist."

Ed twitched again as she disconnected the elbow and reached into her toolbox pulling out new elbow joints.

"You were in training?" Ed questioned.

"Yeah, the Isballan war was definitely a turn off from alchemy."

Ed looked shocked. "You were in the Isballan war? But you would have had to be…"

"8 years old. Yup, I would have been the youngest State Alchemist ever. The Fuhrer said it would be good field practice to put me in there with the best." She was looking in her toolbox again pushing this way and that while Ed sported only a thumb and forefinger.

"Is that how you lost your arm." Ed asked before jumping in his seat again. Amelia had jerked when he had said that and banged an open wire on his arm. "I'll take that as a no?"

"How I lost my arm is none of your business. But, I was shot in the shoulder. I was in the medical tent until…" She paused fixing Ed's arm. She looked behind him, almost trance-like, before she quickly returned to Ed's arm, shaking her head.

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*meanwhile*

Just before Amelia had arrived, Ed had sent Al to get Winry. He didn't want to see the mechanic with his auto mail trashed. That was his thought before Amelia had fixed it.

Al waited for a nearly half an hour after the train was supposed to arrive. It was very late. As he waited, he people-watched… or a better term might 'watched by people'. One of his favourite passtimes was watching people interact with eachother – it reminded him of when he was human – but to his dismay, more than half of the time he was watching them watch him. The bench he was sitting on sat nearly in the middle of the station. As children walked by with their parents, they would point at him, or their parents would pull them away from him, or they would run up to him and poke at his armour. He was used to it, but it still reminded him about how unnatural he was.

Finally Winry's train pulled into the station. The crowd exited the train, but Al didn't spot Winry.

"GOTCHA!" A loud yell filled the air as a girl jumped infront of Al.

"Winry, you scared me!"

"I know Al, that was the point." Winry laughed before sighing.

"How bad is Edward this time?"

"Worse than you've seen him in a while."

Winry sighed. "Well, at least I have something to look forward to. I get to meet Amelia Richards! She is the greatest Auto-mail mechanic around. I hope she likes me." Stars were in Winry's eyes as she clasped her hands together cheerfully. Al was currently beside her lugging her toolbox in one hand, and her luggage in the other. "C'mon Al, lets run… oh I can't wait to see her." She screamed again and took off, leaving Al to follow as fast as he could.

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The next morning Edward felt restless. He and Al always had a quick fight after his auto-mail was fixed, to make sure it worked properly. Last night he didn't get that.

"Man I could really use a good scrap right about now. Loosen up my muscles." Ed was walking along the backfield daring anyone to start a martial art contest with him. All the military officials that were up that early were mostly in the dining hall, eating breakfast. So it was only he and a few of the privates outside. Amelia, dressed in her normal black boots, purple skirt, and black top, walked out of the hall with Hawkeye and Armstrong walking beside her.

"Hey Major! Come scrap with me. I need to work out the kinks in my muscles." Armstrong shook his head at Ed before turning his head in the sound of a voice bellow.

Amelia stretched her auto mail arm across her chest. "I'll scrap with you Ed. I could use some work right now too. Slept funny last night you see. Auto mail vs. auto mail. Should be an interesting fight! Mind you, you got an auto-mail leg too… oh well" Amelia glanced back at him. "But no alchemy… that would be cheating."

"I'm not fighting a girl in a skirt; especially one that short."

"Why Ed, afraid you might see something?" she winked at him and a huge blush covered his cheeks.

"Well…"

"Embarrassed are we? Well I figure if I'm going to be going into assignments with a skirt I might as well practice wearing a skirt. C'mon Ed…"

Without even thinking Ed looked down at her hips imagining what was under that tight, form-fitting purple skirt she wore. His blush deepened before he looked into her eyes and accepted her challenge.

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Edward and Amelia were squared off in the center of the battle circle and a group of military officials had crowded around the circle already placing bets on who would win.

"Alright Edward! Ready to be humiliated?"

"In your dreams."

With that said they ran straight at each other. Legs met arms and fists met fists. Edward threw a punch only to be kicked in the head by a heeled boot. He fell flat on the ground staring up at her.

"Are you going to stay down there? I hope not, I'm still getting warmed up!"

"Wow that actually hurt," he said, kicking his legs up and stood upright once more.

"They do have two inch heels Ed. Your lucky though I didn't hit you harder, otherwise you might have had a hole in your head." She giggled at him before taking her metal arm and swinging it at him. He caught it with his own auto-mail arm and the battle started up again. Amelia did a few back flips and kicked him again with her boots knocking him down, but he barely touched the ground before he got back up again.

"How can you do that in those boots?"

"Lots and lots of practice. Three hours a day seven days a week for two months. Took a while but I finally can do it without even thinking. Why do you think they call me "Boots"?" With that she kicked up her legs and did some more flips toward him and took another swing with her boots. After missing she squared her feet and stared at him. A few catcalls could be heard from the military officers in the background. During one of her flips her skirt rose ever so slightly to show a slice of white cotton panties underneath. Upon landing Amelia tugged on the hem of her skirt pulling it back to it's original location. "Well you giving up yet?"

"Never…" Edwards face had become hot and he knew he was blushing. That was a sight he knew he soon wouldn't forget and that it would haunt him, tease him in his dreams. They both kept going at it kicking, punching, and flipping and after 20 minutes of bruising and cuts from auto-mail connecting with real skin, they both fell over deciding that it was a truce.

"Damn you fight well. I still can't understand how you move so well in those boots!"

"Like I said…practice. I think my arm broke though. I can't move my fingers or my wrist. I'll have to take a look at it later… or even better, I hear Rockbell is coming here to Central. Maybe she can take a look at it, it's really hard to work on your own auto-mail. She's one of your friends right Ed?" She said getting up and dusting off her skirt while receiving a nod from Ed as he got onto his own feet. "Not too bad for a girl in a skirt huh?"

"If you call showing off your panties to every officer presently here in Central a good thing, then yes, I say you did swell!" Mustang walked out of the crowd and into the circle. An "ooooohhhhh" could be heard coming from the crowd and a smirk appeared on Mustangs face as a glare appeared on Amelia's.

"I figured you'd get beaten up pretty fast by her. I can admit without my ego being harmed too much that she too beat me quite a few times when it came to a fight. Those boots of hers even scare me. How she can move so easily in them…"

"Yeah, I mean when I was 8 and you, Roy, were what 21? I beat you bad!" Laughter could be heard and then silence as white gloves came out and the next second flames shot through the air. A huge pothole could be seen in the ground and where Amelia once stood was bare.


	3. Chapter 2

Author's Blog: Yah another beautiful Chapter Beta'd by HoldOnToYourTunaCans. Love you!!

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"MUSTANG THAT'S NOT FUNNY! YOU ALMOST GOT ME!" Amelia shouted as the smoke cleared. She had jumped out of the way of the Flame Alchemist's flames just in time.

"Then don't say things like that!" Roy glared at her.

Amelia finally started laughing along with everyone else who had gathered around.

"Well, that's enough laughing and bruises for one day. Excuse me while I go shower." Amelia left with a twirl of her hips and a swish of her hair. Once she reached the crowd that had gathered they parted like water, and she continued past them. As he stood, shaking his head at the situation, Ed noticed two figures advancing toward the clearing from the opposite direction and, recognizing Al and Winry, ran to greet them.

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Hawkeye was tired. She had spent the whole afternoon trying to get the Fuhrer to do his paperwork but, obviously, he was still flustered with the memory of an eight-year-old girl defeating him in battle. It only made things worse that now the entire military knew.

He was almost seething while doing the paperwork, so Hawkeye just sat behind her desk. She tried talking to the Fuhrer, even flirting, trying to get him to cheer up a bit, but nothing seemed to work.

He was ticked and that's how he was going to stay.

Mustang was being so irresponsible right now that she almost, almost, needed to get her gun out and point it at his head while he was signing his name.

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The water was so nice.

"Damn, I haven't had a fight like that in a long time. I'm sore everywhere." Amelia said to no one in particular while turning off the water and wrapping a towel around her body.

Thoughts about the military meeting she would have to attend wouldn't leave her mind. The three other Colonels, the Fuhrer, dozens of state alchemists, and many other military personals would be conversing that evening about the destruction of the Homunculi.

"The meeting is going to take all night!" She sighed, exasperated, at her reflection in the mirror.

She walked out of the bathroom swinging her hair behind her. She would have to deal with the meeting when it happened. Until then she was going to have a nap.

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*meanwhile*

A red coat flapped in the wind while its owner ran towards the pair entering the Central Military Headquarters.

"AL!!! WINRY!!!!"

At the sound of their names the couple stopped and turned.

"Brother," Al laughed watching his older brother stop in front of him and Winry, gasping for breath.

"Hey Winry…" Ed started before being interrupted by a screech.

"ED YOUR AUTOMAIL IS FIXED!!!! HOW!!! WHO!!!!" As Winry continued to scream at him a wrench mysteriously appeared in her hand.

With fear in his eyes, Ed he proceeded to tell the mad wrench-wielding teen how Amelia had fixed his auto mail. It was this that stopped the screeching.

"Amelia Richards…she fixed it. She improved on my work. She's better then I imagined…" Winry went off into a daydream before shaking her head and taking a step backwards.

"Ed you reek!" She plugged her nose with her wrenchless hand.

Ed lifted his shirt and sniffed. "So I do…"

"I'm not talking to you again, Edward Elric, until you have a shower." She told him before grabbing Al's arm and dragged him into the building behind her.

Ed sniffed the air around him and agreed that a shower would not hurt.

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Al had found his brother, with hair still slightly damp, walking towards the entrance to the female military rooms. He tried to stop him, thinking Ed in this area was not a smart idea.

"Al I don't care. I'm sore everywhere. I'm going to go see her. I just want to go check to make sure she's alright." Both Ed and Al were standing just outside The door to her room. Ed had his hand on the doorknob.

"Brother please… she'll come out soon."

"Al, stop being such a baby." They walked into her room and heard the shower going. 'Her room is actually messy' the blonde alchemist thought to himself upon sitting on her un-made bed.

He saw a couple drawers open and saw that a military uniform was hanging out of one and a bra hanging out another. Al shuttered seeing the bra, but Ed, besides blushing, looked in the exact opposite direction and coughed.

A door opened from the bathroom and out came Amelia wearing only a towel around her body. Her eyes were closed as she swung her hair.

Ed thought he was going to faint.

The towel was just low enough on her chest and short enough below her thighs that it was barely covering anything.

Amelia opened her eyes and almost screamed. She saw Ed blushing almost cherry and Al with his helmet turned away. She immediately grabbed her towel around her chest and held on tight.

"What are you two doing in here?" She almost yelled at them, but somehow she found a way to say it calmly in a stern form without a hint of embarrassment.

"We c-came to see if y-you were al-alright…" Ed stuttered.

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT!!!" Amelia took a deep breath in and tired to calm down. "Well I'm fine so you can leave and let me get dressed…" she lifted one of her arms and the towel started to slip so she quickly grabbed for it.

"NOW GET OUT!!!" she yelled, and instantly the brothers ran for the door. Just as she was about to close the door on them the towel slipped even more. The towel did almost nothing to cover her body now.

Al had already left the room but Ed was still standing there on the other side of the doorframe. Amelia quickly slammed the door and left an even redder Edward on the other side.

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*later that day*

She thought she would die.

Winry found Edward fighting with Mustang about calling him short again, while a girl dressed in purple and black with golden blonde hair was laughing next to Hawkeye.

Winry let out a fangirl scream and pointed in Amelia's direction, starting to stutter.

"Y….y…your Amelia Richards!!!! OH MY GOSH YOU'RE MY IDOL!!!! Can I see your auto mail! Can I see your toolbox! You have to teach me everything you know!" Winry had stars, if not hearts, in her eyes as she looked at Amelia who had an embarrassed grin on her face.

"I take it you're Winry Rockbell. This was getting boring anyways, so sure. Common, lets go talk since I won't hear the end of it until we do." Winry tried to keep quiet, instead of squealing like the fan girl she was.

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Tools scattered the office floor and desk as Amelia and Winry were looked over blueprints for different auto mail limbs Winry had drawn. Ed was lying on the navy upholstered couch without a right arm.

"Ok, so if we bent the cover plate downwards more…"

"No that would burn out the bearings in the shoulder. In just a couple of days the arm would stop functioning all together. Winry, it's the side shoulder plate, not the cover plate that would need to be bent down."

"Oh, I never thought of that." Winry blushed in embarrassment.

Her idol was helping her with some new arm designs for Ed she had been working on. To her disappointment, it seemed as if everything she had been working on was not going to work.

"Ok, now if you tighten this screw…"

"And this finger joint is twisted like this…"

"Alright, Ed can have his arm back now."

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~* that evening *~

"That was some stunt you pulled earlier on me Amelia." A man was sitting at a table leaning his head on his hand while taking a sip of his scotch. A teenager sat on a chair opposite him watching the water in her own glass swirl round as she rocked the glass back and forth in her hand.

"You know if you turn that water to ice the owner is going to kick you out. Us alchemists are forbidden to use alchemy here." He said, straitening his posture before leaning back slightly in his chair.

"Doesn't it bother you? I mean, me being here. You talk to me just like you used to. I left the state alchemist training to live a life I never knew I could live, and decided that I couldn't do it. I was 8 when I joined the military with you Roy. You know that. You know what I did to be able to do what I am capable of."

She looked around to see if anyone was in hearing range. Realizing there was no one in the bar at this late hour who cared to eavesdrop on their conversation, she turned back to her glass and continued to twirl the water, allowing concentration to cloud her eyes.

"If anyone found out about me being part Ishballan I could be killed. Of course, it's your call now…but that doesn't change the fact. I should be in isolation with the others…" She quit twirling the water in her hand before putting the glass back on the table with a sigh. "Roy, I'm not the same person that I was way back when. Our Father…" she started before being interrupted by Mustang.

"Our Father has nothing to do with this Amelia, and no one cares about your lineage. Amelia, You helped me get into the military and become a State Alchemist. If you hadn't bought me my first pair of fire gloves, I would never have passed the test. Drawing circles in the ground wasn't going to cut it…"

"Yeah but… I'm not a State Alchemist Roy. I never was. And I still have to go through all the tests." She sighed and stood to leave. She grabbed her money pouch out of the pocket of her purple jacket, and placed some coins on the table.

"It really is good to see you again Amelia. I missed you…" The Fuhrer said as he watched her walk through the door and disappear into the night.

Mustang was certain something was wrong with her. She wasn't the same girl he remembered, never mind the fact he hadn't seen her for two years. But he had purposely assigned her to the Western State because of it's simple ways of life, and even though there were lots of confrontations in the west, very few required true violence. As far as he knew she never even carried a gun. But when he saw her leave, she had a gun holster at her waist. The idea that it could have been given to her by her over protective First Lieutenant who become sick on the travel to Central flittered across his mind, but he got a better look at it when she turned and saw her initials bevelled on the side of it.

To his knowledge, nothing really deadly was in the West right now, but maybe…maybe it wasn't the territory that made her carry it. He took another sip of his scotch. Maybe it was her new position. He had only promoted her a few weeks ago, because when the meeting was scheduled, he wanted her to have a firm position on the matter. It didn't matter that the previous Colonel was caught crazed murdering innocents, and having no Lieutenant Colonel in the West – and not really wanting to transfer anyone – the obvious choice was the next highest available rank in the West, First Lieutenant Richards.

But even with the new rank, he still couldn't understand her need for a gun. She didn't like them, that was why she was an automail mechanic for the military in the West. She didn't like guns since the Ishballan war. He remembered finding her arguing with the General about using her for his purposes, and that she refused to participate in the killings. She was assigned to make sure the children, if not the parents, would leave their homes into the appointed land for their isolation. The general wanted her to hold a gun, and he remembered her yelling that she wasn't a soldier, nor an alchemist, and being around all this wasn't right. The image of finding her crying in one of the tents, a bullet hole in her shoulder, blood running down the tent sheets, was still carved into his mind.

At age eight, his sister had seen and experienced the horrific and deadly nature of the military.

No one knew of her being his sister and that's the way the two liked it. They couldn't risk people knowing that his father, Gregory Mustang, had cheated on his wife with another woman. Roy himself was a miracle child to his mother, since she was never supposed to have children. But Mustang supposed that his father wanted more. After his wife found out, he murdered her to keep her silent, and then he killed the other woman too.

Amelia and her twin sister were lucky to have survived. Both were together in a specialty hospital in a different state then their mother. She was miserable having been separated from her children, but they had contracted a terrible disease, and needed to be isolated. No hospitals in the East had been advanced enough for their disease at the time, only one in the North was specializing for this disease. Thankfully, their father never knew what their names were, having never met them. He even only knew of their existence because their mother had begged for their lives before he killed her.

Before, Gregory had found a way to reach them, the Military – Roy specifically – had found him and put him in prison. He escaped prison less than year later, and the military had been searching for him ever since with no leads. Maybe that is why she was carrying a gun now. She had a lead on him.

The only reason she would carry a gun would be if she knew her alchemy wouldn't be enough.

Which brought on another possibility. The humonculi.

He looked down at his scotch glass, now half empty, and placed it on the table before getting up and walking out himself, leaving a few coins on the table as well. "Too many possibilities. Too much chaos in the world to deal with. Please don't bring him into this too...." he whispered to noone but the night sky.

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~* meanwhile *~

"Well this is great! I thought my sister would never come back to wanting to become a State Alchemist. And now that the Fullmetal knows her, he will probably know her story soon too. And that Mustang…" A long black haired homunculi was seething while pacing back and forth.

"Oh please Pride you blow everything out of proportion!" Envy was sitting looking very bored with an Amelia look alike – with black hair and purple eyes - pacing in front of him.

It had been only a year since the new Pride had come. After their last Pride died, Hoenheim of Light had chosen her to be the new Pride. Hoenheim was very secretive about her and her human sister. He said that a human transmutation had been preformed on her years ago but because she didn't fit the part of Sloth, she had to wait inside the gate. The human transmutation had only one problem and that was that the soul didn't take to the body.

When Envy found out that this homunculi's twin sister, that had preformed the transmutation, was involved in the military and that she was soon to be close to the Elric Shorty, he was more then delighted to show her the ropes. But this Pride was very proud. She would either be bragging or complaining about everything.

But he would put up with her…for now.

"Ahh here you two are!" said a woman in a black dress, with a fat man and a small young boy following her.

"Lust, Gluttony, Wrath. What a pleasant surprise." Envy not at all thrilled at their presence.

"Not to be rude Envy, but actually, we have come for Pride. Father has another mission for you. He wouldn't tell me the exact mission; he wanted to tell you himself. But what he did say was that it has to do with Edward and his many emotions, and something about your sister thrown into the mix as well."

"A mission to destroy my sister…how exciting…She is nothing compared to me! I was always the better part of the two of us and then I had to catch that wretched disease. She should have caught it! I'll make her pay!"

"Now Pride, don't be going and getting too proud now… and stop ranting! You sound too much like Wrath when he's having a bad day." Envy sighed again. If it weren't for the Elric Shorty he wouldn't have to put up with Pride.


	4. Chapter 3

Authors Blog: So I have some amazing fanart, I just need a scanner so I can put it on my flicker account!

To my lovely Beta, your comments when fixing my worth makes re-reading my work almost as much fun as writing it in the first place. You are amazing HoldOnToYourTunaCans.

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"The Meeting"

It was very late in the evening by the time the entire invited group of military officers and State Alchemists had arrived at the Meeting Hall. Many tables were pushed together, creating a large empty centered square. Even with all the seats present, many still were standing in the background. The Fuhrer was sitting in the middle of one of the long tables. On his right sat Hawkeye who looked very solemn.

As soon as the Fuhrer had the attention of the attending military officials he called the meeting to a start.

"We are here to discuss the matter of absolute importance regarding the beings called the Homunculi." Mustang started slowly, telling what he knew from Edward's stories of the Humunculi. Ed, himself, was sitting with his brother next to him at a different table to the right of Mustang. He looked at no one for the longest time before looking straight into Mustang's eyes and with a nod of his head, thanked Mustang for not making Edward explain all of it himself.

A military official stood up from his chair behind the farthest table from Mustang. "As the currently ranking Lieutenant Colonel of the North, I want to know why this effects my part of the state? The homunculi have never, to my knowledge, had anything to do with any crimes up North."

Anyone who had not been to this kind of meeting before, would think he was being rude. Unfortunately, it was these kinds of meetings where notes were being taken, that sayings of this kind were necessary to record

"Lieutenant Colonel Tulk, I understand your position," Mustang started, "yet you must understand, that if we are to dispose of these creatures we must work together."

"I thought you said the homunculi could not be defeated. That they were as close to immortal as one could get?" One of the Majors claimed.

"Yes, _nearly. _They do have their weaknesses…"

"When they are near their remains, bones and such, they become weak…and there has to be the right kind of alchemy circle in place. That is, when they are weak…" said Ed, finishing Mustangs sentence.

"Then why have they not been defeated yet, if it's so easy and you already know how to?" the Lieutenant Colonel from the East spoke up.

"Lieutenant Colonel," Hawkeye intervened. "It is not that easy to kill a homunculi. Each has their own special, unique power that is difficult to overcome."

"That isn't the only reason, Lieutenant Colonel Hawkeye." A quiet voice came from Amelia, her eyes concentrating on a water glass in her hand. It was a nervous habit of hers to swirl water in glasses. When she was younger, it was one technique she used to learn to control her alchemy. She was to slowly turn the water to ice, top down like a true freezing would. When her alchemy teacher taught her, she had also suggested that this would also be a great relaxing exercise. Unfortunately, it also became a nervous habit she grew to desperately need to calm herself, and settle her mind. Anytime she knew there would be a difficult setting, she would try to have a glass of water.

It was a few seconds before she finally looked up and continued scanning her eyes at everyone she could.

"It is, in fact, much harder to kill them then you are making it out to be. Being near their remains makes them weak. It doesn't make them stupid. They still will fight with all the energy they possess. They are not easy to defeat."

She sighed heavily before taking a quick glance in the Fullmetal Alchemist's direction, letting her gaze linger on him for a few moments before continuing.

"Fate, mixed with a little bit of human need, keeps them going. A Homunculi is created when an Alchemist performs a human transmutation, and it fails. And sadly, these events are not uncommon. The Humunculi…" she stalled in her rant slightly before taking a deep breath.

"The Humunculi will keep "being" if their master is not killed as well. Their only wish is to be human; for their transmutation to be completed. What the master calls upon them to do is his own bidding. While he lives, he also feeds them life." She sighed again looking at the table taking her eyes off everyone in the room.

"You seem to know an awful lot about these homunculi, Colonel." Another major spoke up.

"Anyone can do research. It isn't that hard." She snapped back. She suddenly felt like the room was slowly shrinking and she felt crushed.

The meeting went on, yelling started when Ed said something that he might not have needed too, and Mustang gave him a quick gesture telling him to say no more for fear of him revealing his secret.

The Colonel from the West decided to stay silent for the rest of the meeting. It was just passing midnight when the meeting was adjourned with the promise of another one like it the evening after next.

That next day, as Mustang pointed out, was The State Alchemist Entrance Exams and he wanted to be able to have some sleep.

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Anyone who looked at a clock, the time being near 1:00am would wonder why a figure would be sitting on top of the Central HQ buildings roof.

Amelia was anxious. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep even if she tried.

"If this is going to be some ritual, I want part of it! It's very tranquil up here don't you think?" A new being was on top of the military headquarters roof. He sat next to Amelia before scooting even closer to her and placing his arm around her shoulders.

"Shove off!" Amelia roughly pushed off the intruder and slapped him across the face.

"That was mean! You hurt me! Can I have a kiss better?" A smirk crossed the shadowed man's face as he stared Amelia down.

"Lay off Envy. I come up here to dive into my thoughts. ALONE. If you don't mind I like it better without you here." She turned her back to him and crossed her legs.

"You know, you are the exact opposite of that annoying sister of yours! While she is over confident, and constantly bitching about something, you are brooding and completely depressed.

"Ha ha ha! Now that's a laugh and a half. Since when am I depressed? I'm like one of the happiest people in the world…"

"How hard are you studying for that state exam?" He said, changing topics quickly.

"What's that have to do with anything?" She was facing him now. The smirk she was getting from him was making her uneasy.

"You know they are going to accept you, no matter what…"

"But the written…" she interrupted him before he interrupted her, "You will pass the written. You know enough. Relax, and maybe come out with me tonight, you look worn. You need to do some of your exercises. It's been too long. You should come be with us for while. After all, when you transmuted your sister…"

"If you don't shut up right now I will do something rash. I do not need to do the exercises. I am perfectly fine. All my limbs are working and I can breathe naturally. Just leave me alone before I do something rash."

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The exam would start in less than 5 minutes. So many alchemists were there to try to win the title of State Alchemist.

Amelia was sitting on the steps trying her best to not shake in nervousness. If she blew it on the written there was no way she would be able to stay in the military. She knew that the interview and the practical would be no problem, but she didn't know if she could handle the written.

Nervousness was an understatement of her mood at the moment.

Different men were showing up left, right and center, but, like she expected, she was the only female trying out for the title.

She sighed to herself, tucking the hem of the sides of her military issued skirt under her even more. Mustang had told her specifically that she had to continue wearing her military uniform while here in central for looks more than anything. He didn't want to allow her not to wear it and someone get the wrong idea and snoop into their affairs.

"Alright everyone. You may now enter the exam room and good luck to you all!" A random man in a military uniform had opened the doors and walked back inside after his announcement.

"Alright Boots," she mumbled to herself, "Its now or never…"

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Hidden in the shadows, a woman and a man stood together.

"Well Envy, lets see if she makes it."

"Of course she will Pride. It's too important for her not to. Besides, Amelia can handle herself. I trust she wont let us down. After all, she has the connection to the Fullmetal Shrimp." Envy stared at the nervous look on Amelia's face before she turned and entered with the rest of the State Alchemist wannabes.

"No, she will make it. Boots would never let her military friends down. No, she will definitely make it for them…and for us. She _is_ on our side after all." Envy smirked before turning his gaze back to Pride.

"Envy, I'm not so sure. Sure she's brilliant enough. She recreated me, after all, but if the military sees through her in the interview…She never had an interview before she got into the military."

"I've been with her enough the last week to know she will make it in."

"You only spoke with her once. Spying on her from shadowed corners and listening to her conversations doesn't count!" Pride crossed her arms and pouted. "I can't see how you can stand being around her so much. She doesn't deserve that of you. After all… you are mine …" Pride placed her arm around Envy's waist possessively while still pouting, before looking up at him and batting her eyelashes.

"Don't forget your place Pride. Remember our mission. You need to get your head straight before I make you." He removed her arms from around his waist. "She will get in. There is no doubt in my mind. It's what she does afterwards. Being a dog of the military isn't going to make her job easy, but she is with us and her loyalty lies with me and with Father. " He smirked flicking his long green hair away from his eyes.

"After all, we have you as a bargaining chip. She can't deny us when we could reveal you to the military, Pride...her transmuted twin sister. After all, not only would she be released from the military and killed, but also her brother, Fuhrer Roy Mustang."

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The written part of the exam was easier that she thought it would be.

As everyone exited the building, she found herself to be one of the only ones with a smile on their face.

Clicking the heel of her boot on the cement walkway joyfully. She made her way straight to the interviewing waiting room. Finding her name eighth on the list, the Colonel sat with a scowl, her happy mood ruined. Next to her was red headed man that looked to be in his late forties.

He was drumming his fingers on the armrest quite noisily. A name was called and he stood and left the room.

Most of the remaining men looked to be in their late twenties or thirties, although a couple couldn't have been older than eighteen.

She smiled as one glared at her with obvious distaste that there was a female in the room.

Others looked onto her with lust in their eyes as she crossed her legs trying to hide anything they might see. By the time the seventh person left the room she was almost asleep. Her name was called and she stood pulling down the hem of her skirt and tucked some blonde hair behind her ear.

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The Fuhrer was always present when the interviews were happening. This was Mustang's first though. And when he knew his sister was the next to sit in that 3 legged chair, he wanted nothing more than to be not there. When he saw the blonde enter, he smiled warmly at her once she sat on the stool before quickly putting back on his emotionless face.

Unfortunately for him, everyone around him, excluding Hawkeye, seemed desperately bored.

The current Fuhrer looked sideways at each of them before asking the questions.

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Now for the real Alchemy test.

Amelia didn't know what to do for this part. In the West, she hardly did any alchemy anymore. Her subordinates did everything.

With her gloves, she was known for her abilities to manipulate any liquid into ice. That, in her mind, was impressive. Also, the symbols on her boots could be used for something.

The one thing she did know though, was that she had to be careful.

Like Edward, she only had to clap her hands to use alchemy; an after-effect of seeing The Gate. The gloves she wore were only to take attention away from the clapping. If she did anything of the like, Edward would recognize it, and knowing him, he would call upon it if someone else that saw his State Alchemist Entrance Exam didn't.

The man behind her pushed her roughly aside and worked his way to the front, stepping out on the testing ground. He created a huge tree out of nothing but a leaf. He smiled as he stepped aside.

A few men had taken their turns, and then, over the crowd, she heard the red headed man next to her say, "What's a GIRL doing trying out for the State Alchemist Title? Pretty girls like you should be in a kitchen.

Amelia was scandalized. The red headed man laughed along with the others around him. Amelia huffed before looking at him.

"I'm going next!" she said pushing her way through the crowd. She stood in the middle of the testing ground and looked in every direction. She saw Ed standing next to Mustang, who had Hawkeye and some of the others she knew well standing around him.

'Oh crap, now what' She thought to herself, a slight blush creeping onto her cheeks.

She looked down at the ground and then at the pond and trees surrounding her. She did the quick calculations in her head before putting the gloves onto her hands. She hoped she wasn't sweating as much as she thought she was. What she was planning on doing she had only done once before.

The last time she had fainted afterwards, and that would not get her the title of State Alchemist.


	5. Chapter 4

Authors Blog: So I drew some stuff….And I've made a wix account so you all can see them…however I have to get to a scanner first. So by next chapter they will be scanner and you will have a link.

This Chapter is the first of this story to be not re-written from before. So it may be shorter, but that is because I want to post often, while still drawing…I have 4 stories I am working on now!!

Chapter 5

Edward was estatic to have received an invitation to watch the exams. He was looking foreword to seeing what the hopefuls would try in their practical. He hadn't seen one since his own.

Everyone seemed to be doing a fairly good job, but no one seemed to stand out. He had been allowed…more like assigned, to be one of the markers of the written exam. Thankfully, only 3 of the many exams he marked were not high enough to continue, and thankfully, her didn't have the authority to tell them they had to go home. He also was allowed to be present at most of the interviews. He hopped when he walked into his own those many years ago, that he hadn't looked as nervous, or downright frightened.

The Actually application exam was what he was really looking forward to however. Watching people perform alchemy was one of his favourite pass times. Watching and commenting on their ability was his assignment.

Sitting behind the main table on the left of the Fuhrur was an honourable place to sit, but for Edward, it was a torture sentence. Mustang was famous for his teasing of the Teenage Alchemist, and if a comment was able to be made about Edward's findings, he would.

He was writing down his approval of a particular Alchemist when suddenly a red headed man yelled, "What's a GIRL doing trying out for the State Alchemist Title. Pretty girls like you should be in a kitchen." He couldn't believe someone would say that.

Amelia took to it and pushed her way to the front.

The Fullmetal Alchemist could tell that she was nervous instantly. Her eyes looked almost as lost as she looked around the circle of the crowd. He watched her put on her gloves on her hands, and flex her automail fingers. A gust of wind caught one of the trees and its leaves blew around the arena. Amelia caught one in her fingers and brought it to her face.

Kneeling on the ground, she placed the leaf, before clapping her gloved hands together and placing them on the ground. The ground sparked brightly, before a mud and wooden figure could be seen where there once wasn't.

Laughter filled the wind from everyone who was trying out for the title as they heaved with laughter.

"That's what she makes to prove herself!"

"Wow I never knew one so pathetic could think she could make it into the military."

"What a joke!"

She made a fist with her automail as she walked over to the mini pond. She placed her hands barely on the surface and the water glowed brightly. Silence filled the area as she lifted both her hands and the water shot out of the pond into the air. Instantly, the water became an icy dagger.

She stomped with her right foot, the gold alchemy circle glowing, before the erie sparkle of her red heel blazed. A small bulls eye was now covering the stomach of the figure. She threw her hands forward and the huge icy dagger flew hitting the wooden and mud figure in the very centre of the bulls eye. The wood and mud instantly completely froze toppling over and, finally exploding into a giant mud puddle and a cascade of falling leaves.

The crowd was silent.

Shutting her eyes, forcing out a smile, she held herself up standing tall and proud, even with her body protesting. She wouldn't show how tired that had made her. How weak she felt, and how much effort it took to hold herself together. She saluted the Fhurer with a confident smile and walked to the back of the circle before taking a seat besides the rest of the potentials that had performed their alchemy.

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Mustang smiled. Amelia was an amazing alchemist. The two of them grew up together, her using water and ice, and him fire. They practiced together constantly when they were younger. It didn't matter to him that he was so much older, her knowledge and ability were surprising even then.

But this move surprised even himself. He told himself that he wouldn't be biased and choose her just because she was his sister, and he promised himself he wouldn't choose her just because he knew she was good already, and would be good for the military.

This however, proved that she should be a State Alchemist.

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The wind had finally died down outside the Main Central HQ building. The only body that could be seen was sitting on top of the roof; A small blonde female, staring at the examining ground.

She was now a State Alchemist. The Freeze was an official State Alchemist.

Running her flesh hand over her metal arm, a small blush painted itself on her cheeks. Mustang had made her the Fullmetal's new partner. She remembered telling her brother in private that he was playing with fire, before the two of the burst out laughing and Hawkeye came rushing into his office.

She still couldn't believe it. Nothing good could come from being Ed's partner. Mustang had used the excuse that while he was looking for the philosopher's stone, she could be a great help knowing about human transmutation herself, while being careful not to let the Fullmetal Alchemist in on her secret.

But Mustang would never understand how much she knew, and how obvious it was to others who had performed the transmutation who else had as well. No one else could ever know if she had anything to do about it. But it was becoming increasingly difficult.

She could feel it.

She was loosing control.

What hope she held most precious to her being was fading quickly. The small shreds and scraps of humanity that held her together was disappearing. Envy was right. She needed to go see the homunculi. She needed to do her exercises. She needed the Master more now then she ever did before.

Yet she wouldn't. She never could again. She needed to stay pure now, for the sake of the military, her brother, her new partner and his brother, and her curse.

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Edward was in a dark room. The only light was shinning from a small crease in the wall opposite him. To him it looked like a misty doorway. But it couldn't be a doorway because there was no door. Yet the misty crease was becoming larger. Suddenly, red liquid started rushing through the slit in the wall.

"Red water?" Ed whispered to himself. "What's it doing here?" The water was thin, flowing underneath and around his boots.

"No, this isn't red water. It would do what it did last time. I would be loosing myself to its power, and I would be glowing blue…which I'm not…" He was tempted to run his flesh hand through it just to make sure, before rethinking it. He didn't dare dip his auto-mail hand into the liquid either.

He walked toward the slit in the wall stopping right before it. The crease suddenly opened completely, but no more red water than before exited the space. Ed's eyes widened. Before him was the gate. It glowed bright, in all its golden glory. He turned his head around, to still see the black wall behind him with what looked like a large rectangle cut out of it.

"**Edward Elric," **A voice whispered filling the room. **"Edward Elric, do not be discouraged. Do not feel pain. Soon Edward soon."**

It was if the very room was whispering to him. The voice was calm and encouraging. It was soft yet firm. It made him instantly relaxed, not what he was used to when he met with the gate.

"Edward Elric, the time will come soon, be prepared. Events are about to happen. You are one of my few…one of the few to survive. Do not let your heart be torn and discouraged. Do not let your mind be deceived. Do not give up. Be strong, be powerful, be mindful. Your hopes, dreams, and ultimate desires are near. Soon Edward, soon."

Ed had decided that it was not the room but the gateway itself talking to him, but how? How was the gate talking to him? He didn't remember doing a transmutation to put him in front of the gate again.

"Edward…Edward…Edward…Ed…Ed…" The voice started to dim. Ed was suddenly aware of being shaken. He opened his eyes to see blonde hair and blue eyes staring at him and shaking him.

"Finally your awake, the next stop is ours, we have to get off the train." Amelia continued shaking him until he gave a half-hearted push.

His brother was trying to hide his laughter in the seat across.

"Next stop Ranamade. Border of Western State, and highway to Desemar, home to the Western Military Head Quarters." A loud clear voice spoke while walking down the train isle.

"Welcome to my part of the world boys. The less time we spend here the better, watch your step, this isn't the safest town in the Western State…if there is a safe town in the West."


	6. Chapter 5

02/06/2009 21:08:00

Authors Blog: OK I know this chapter is short, but I wanted to post SOMETHING!!!!....

I am making a WIX account so I will have art for you guys soon.

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Chapter 6

Roy Mustang would have been more worried if he didn't know Ana so well. It was a very hard decision to pair her with the Fullmetal Alchemist. Pairing them with their stories being so intertwined would normally have been a very poor decision on his part. It would not take long for the male blonde alchemist to figure it out with all his intelligence of alchemy.

Ana wouldn't talk to the fhurer anymore. She merely hinted at the idea as a suggestion to think about. When Mustang had agreed immediately, it made her even question her own sanity. To be so close to another individual who had performed human transmutation would not end well, no matter how well she hid herself from Edward. But he needed her, and both knew it. The battle with the homunculi almost at an end, the two needed to fight together. Only together could they bring down the homunculi.

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"Ranamade, huh?" Edward sighed while stretching. "Interesting city, its mostly trees."

"From this distance maybe. Once we reach the edge of the station, that won't be the case. It's completely different terrain there." Ana stretched while pulling on her gloves.

"A forest is a forest. " Edward shook his head, watching her put on her gloves. "What, does it has different trees?" He and Al laughed walking besides Ana.

Ana chuckled before they reached the end pillars and Edward's jaw dropped. Al nearly stumbled.

"Wow…the city is on a giant cliff!" Al pointed towards the horizon where it was completely desert.

"Did I not tell you we were at the edge of the mountain. Ranamade is a city carved into the edge of a cliff. That's why if you are to go traveling to Desemar you have to walk, or take the caravan, but it only runs in the summer and fall, not early spring." She shook her hair and took off her purple coat. Ana was out of her uniform and back into her purple skirt and black tank top.

They stepped onto the cliff edge and Edward took off his coat too. "Wow it's hot for spring." Edward wiped his brow.

"Yes, this city is one of the hottest in Western State. As soon as you leave the forest, on comes the heat. It truly is amazing, but heat rises so it is to be expected." She placed her coat in her suitcase, waiting for the blonde alchemist to do the same, before continuing on.

They took the long zigzag road down the edge of the mountain, before stopping in the middle at a large circle with benches, torches, and a huge fountain in the middle. Ana took a seat. The city was bustling with people. No cars, no busses, no form of travel except for the many people on foot gracing the roads. The city contained small buildings on the edge of the curvy road and little booths here and there as well.

"Why are you sitting? You can't be tired already?" Edward chuckled.

"No, but I thought I might sit while you decide if you want to wait till tomorrow morning to cross the desert, and cross in one day, or take a tent and camp fire equipment and avoid the heat?" She wiped her cheek and looked around. "The city is surprising busy for this time of day. Buying supplies might be difficult."

"Campfire still sounds better brother. You don't do well in heat."

"Your right Al. Let's continue now then." Ed said starting down the road again.

They went to different stores picked up some supplies and started down the rest of the road toward the carpet of sand.

Just before the end of the cliff where a gate blocked the highway, a guard walked over to them. "No one can travel this road right now. There has been some trouble, and kids like should not get involved."

"Officer, I need to get to my office tomorrow. This is the only road." She nodded toward the vast desert.

"I'm sorry I cannot let civilians pass even if they need to go to work. There is no entry permitted to anyone along this road." He stood tall with his shoulders back. Ed raised his eyebrows and smirked at his brother.

Ana sighed glanced in Edward's direction and together they showed him their pocket watches.

"We're State Alchemist's Lieutenant, and how did you reach this post without my authorization. Anyone who works in the West has to have my signature on their permit. My laws as Colonel." She smiled sweetly flashing her hidden badge out of her pocket.

"Colonel Richards…" he saluted stiffly, and she saluted back boredly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't recognize you, I'm still fairly new." He was sweating and shaking slightly.

"Who posted you here Lieutenant?" Ed watched her straighten her shoulders.

"First Lieutenant Lieu, Ma'am."

"First Lieutenant Lieu…" she sighed. "I should have known…"

"Lieutenant you will continue to man this post, but I do need to pass. That's an order." The man looked shocked but stepped to the side and opened the gate to the highway through the desert.

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Pride was on her own. It was one of the only times she was left to herself. The other homunculi joked about how she might have been better suited as wrath with her ever growing anger. Her master had promised her that it would get better. That she was still getting used to this body, and eventually it would pass, she would just have to wait it out.

She was getting tired of waiting for her sister. Master had promised her that she would come eventually back to Central. Envy was to bring them back. She trusted Envy, as much as she hated to. The man was horrid. She clung to him, but no matter how much she batted her lashes, he refused her. She knew she was good enough. She had everything he could ever want, besides her soul…any soul. Infact she would give almost anything for her sister's soul. A single touch her master forbid her from giving could bring her back to life. If her sister's soul was as weak and detached as Envy described, she would merely need to put a hand to Ana's chest and the soul would transfer to her own body: something so simple, forbidden for her.

Master had other plans. She would just need to wait…patiently. She would get a soul, even if it wasn't the one she deserved. Her sisters soul.

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The Oasis was more then Edward could ask for. It was the middle of the night, and the group had found a small little pond and a few trees to set up camp around. Dinner was short, with the small portions Ana had bought, but it was rather pleasant. After, they had set up some sleeping bags and started a small campfire. Sitting in a sleeping bag, trying to keep warm, was not something Ed though he would be doing in a desert.

"Something bothering you brother?" Al questioned from his spot farther away from the flames. "We have to wake up early tomorrow, you should sleep."

"It's cold…" Ed shivered.

Ana sat up hugging the sleeping bag to her. "You're lucky that you have me as a travel guide. Usually travellers would…" She paused…

"What?" Ed asked sitting up straight.

"Shhh…" She reached into her bag next to her. Staring just to the left of Al. The bush rattled and Al shrieked and ran over to the other side of the fire. A dark blur shot out of the bush and a few loud bangs rung into the night.

Ed and Al stared at Ana. She held a gun resting it on her other arm to stable it. The dark blur lay on the ground.

"W…what was it…" Al whimpered. Ana took out a flashlight from her bag and slowly squirmed out of her sleeping bag.

"Out of your bag Ed, come help me…" She whispered at him. He protested, but reluctantly walked behind her toward the figure with Al close behind.

"A…snake…" Al whimpered.

"Why is there an alchemy circle on it's head?" Ed walked closer to examine it.

"Careful Ed, it's only knocked out. We need to pack up continue. It's a Blue Diamond-Back, they hunt alone, but travel in packs. More will be here shortly, and my circle only lasts for a short while." She turned around and started back for the camp.

"Your circle?"

"My gun, it shoots alchemy. I would never have a gun that shoots bullets, you never know what your shooting…" She trailed off... before rolling up her sleeping bag.

Ed glanced at his brother before going and packing up his things as well. "Can we sleep somewhere else then?" He moaned "I'm exhausted."

"No. We will have to continue until we reach the city. If there are Diamond-Back's out here, then there might be more that will be tracking us. We must continue…Maybe your brother will offer to carry you?"

"I can walk…" Ed grumbled. They finished packing their things, put out the fire, and continued on into the night nervously.


	7. Chapter 6

30/06/2009 15:23:00

Authors Blog: Sorry for the long wait guys. This is all my fault. But to prove my guilt I am posting two chapters…maybe 3… wow I wrote for hours today.

The moon glowed as the stars glittered in the night. The dark sand highlighted by the moons rays. The stillness only disturbed by 3 sets of feet…one which was clunking armour, another dragging his heels, and the grinding against the sand with each step.

"Can't we sleep now…" Edward moaned. "We have been walking for hours."

"Stop whinning it's been less than 3 hours." Ana grunted pulling her coat closer to her.

"And what if another snake comes Brother. I don't like the idea of waiting for one." Al whispered worriedly.

"He's right Ed. We have to keep moving no matter how..." Ana stopped mid sentence to yawn. "…tired we are. We must keep moving." She shook her head as she yawned again. "Besides, we are only about another 20 minutes away from Desemar. We can sleep there."

"The sun will be up in an hour…then we wont want to sleep." He grumbled back.

"Brother stop fussing."

"I like to grumble…" He replied wrinkling his nose.

"Alright children..." Ana interrupted rolling her eyes. "Actually we should be ably to see the city just above this dune…" She trailed off slowly climbing the sandy mountain.

The dune was surprising well packed enough to climb. However, Al did have to pulled out of the sand twice, making him have sunken a total of 27 times since they left Ranamade.

"Al stop sinking!" Ed moaned helping pull him out of the sand again.

"Wow. It's just as wonderful as I remember…" sitting on the dune, Ana paused. "It's stunning. Like a continuation of the stars…"

Ed walked to the top of the dune and dropped his suitcase in surprise. Al simply gasped. Ranamade sparkled. It's many lights looking literally like thousands of stars, except for the background lighting making the buildings stand out against the consuming darkness.

"It's the city that never sleeps…some shops are open 24 hours a day. One of my laws actually. I never understood how the city could be alive all evening with no shopping."

"Do all girls like shopping?" Al questioned softly.

"We need to get moving." She stood up before smiling avoiding Al's question. "Race you boys down." She took off at a run down the dune.

"No fair head start!" Ed yelled back running after her pulling his red coat tighter around himself.

"Brother!!!" The armour shouted following.

Purple fabric floated behind the Freeze Alchemist as she ran full speed down the hill. She laughed joyously, before her foot sunk slightly in the sand ad she lost her balance tumbling down the rest of the dune.

"Ana! I'm uggghhh…" Ed started before he too lost his footing and started tumbling as well.

Al ran faster sinking more and more each step managing to not fall over however, or completely sink.

Ana stopped rolling at the bottom of the dune giggling. The other blonde alchemist suddenly crashed into her and they tumbled slightly together further away from the dune.

When Al reached the bottom, he found both laughing tangled together.

"Ummm…don't we need to keep moving…" he whispered trying not to laugh at the State Alchemists position. If he had been human, he would have been blushing a deep red.

Both stopped laughing realizing the position they were in. Ana was lying on the ground, her flesh arm across her stomach, while her automail was tangled in the fabric of Ed's jacket surrounded by a few rips. Ed was ontop of her, his flesh hand tangled in her hair by the base of her neck where his hand instinctively placed it to protect her head when they kept tumbling, and his automail was caught in her jacket, more wrapped in it however and this was what supported his weight as he leaned over her. His right leg crossed her left, and her right was bent upwards as his left leaned against it.

They both layed there in shock for a second before trying to untangle themselves, legs first than arms. Yet, their automail didn't want to untangle from their jackets and in their rush to separate, tore the material, making it even more caught in the connections of the metal and wires. Ed lost his balance and fell flush to her, his eyes opening wide before he ripped her jacket practically in half as he rolled over off of her.

Luck wasn't on their side however because her automail was more caught than his and when he rolled over he pulled her arm back with him. She gasped in pain as her arm bent the wrong way, and she rolled as well to right her arms position.

Al watched the two struggling against each other trying to untangle, loosen, and for all other purposes destroy the others jacket trying to get away from the other. He wasn't sure that if he could show emotions he would be smiling and laughing, or blushing and look away. But because he could not truly smile or blush he simply chuckled to himself. The two were really quite a sight tumbling around limbs going every which direction, possibly making the tangle worse with each movement.

Both blondes were huffing as they tumbled and yanked on their automail, finally freeing themselves, and effectively ruining not only their jackets but making a few tears in their shirts as well. Ana now ontop of Ed swung one leg over him to meet the other and stood. Ed kicked onto his knees before standing up himself.

They wouldn't speak of it even when Al asked to explain why they wouldn't just unhook one arm at a time and save their clothes. Both wouldn't talk as they walked in silence toward the city, inwardly and outwardly blushing.

Suddenly Ana stopped moving her hand to her waist before running back to the dune and shinning a flash light on the hill. Ed and Al followed her, trying to get her to speak before they noticed that her gun was missing from its holster.

"Where is my gun…oh no…help me find it. I can't loose that gun!!!" She started yelling as she walked back up the path the two had made keeping her light close to the sand. "I can't loose this gun…I need it!!!" She was almost hyperventilating before Al yelled that he found it. It was sticking out of the dune near the middle when she had first tumbled. He ran it back down to her as she


End file.
